Solutions
By George Ralph, RFA – As a technologist, it’s apparent to me that the road to success lies with digitisation, but it can be hard to bring a traditional industry into the digital age. The alternative investment industry is one which is still heavily reliant on tried and tested and partially manual processes throughout the front and back office. However, I think we’ve reached a tipping point whereby not digitising, or using technology to best effect is actually harming profits, and increasing the levels of risk that a firm is exposed to.
From a simple improving efficiency perspective, technology can
Technology is playing a pivotal role in how fund administrators support the growing reporting needs of private equity (PE) groups. Those who have both the internal experience to handle PE funds and the technological capability to deliver effective services and reporting, are likely to be the best positioned; especially as more PE groups appoint trusted third party service providers.
The push toward using third party administrators is largely institutional-driven. As investors look to diversify their portfolios, they expect reporting from PE groups to be similar to the reports received from hedge fund managers.
“Increasingly, PE managers are choosing to not
In an effort to streamline fundraising, increase clarity and improve the efficiency of capital formation, the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) has released a model subscription agreement (MSA) for private equity funds.
Developed by legal counsels representing the private equity industry, the modular, multi-jurisdictional document provides a balanced, off-the-shelf solution which can be easily customised to meet the needs of fund managers and their investors, saving significant time and cost. The ILPA MSA is available to the industry on the ILPA website.
“In speaking to private equity stakeholders about legal procedures in need of streamlining, the fund closing process was at
By Mary Beth Hamilton – With 2018 around the corner many firms are locking down their budgets and looking for opportunities to run more efficiently. Technology is one area where savvy alternative investment firms can optimise their budgets to make room for new IT initiatives.
Here’s our list of five technology budget areas to evaluate.
Cloud Technology
Go Cloud. If you’re still running an on-premise IT environment it is time to evaluate a move to the cloud. Aside from shifting IT management responsibilities, you’ll gain access to cost predictability and the latest technology feature sets. Not to mention the real estate
Last July, the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (the Commission) embarked on a process to overhaul the Investment Funds Act. The Investment Funds Act 2003 was largely structured to be in line with the operations of fiduciary administrators and did not necessarily account for the appropriate regulation of the various roles within a fund structure.
Consequently, the SCB’s mission last summer was to address those gaps by asking two major law firms to develop draft legislation and update the Investment Funds Act that would help support institutional, as well as private wealth business.
“In launching the overhaul, it was important
Gresham House, a specialist alternative asset manager, has launched a new online investor portal aimed at providing the firm’s clients with a co-investment service, greater visibility into their holdings and a level of transparency on underlying private assets that is typically only seen in the public markets.
The portal will enable clients to access deal by deal co-investment opportunities in a structured and simple manner. Users will have access to information on the underlying assets, including appraisal and investment papers where available, allowing them the discretion to increase their investment into the regions, sectors or deals specific to their interests.
By George Ralph, RFA – Whilst popular in the US, here in the UK, cyber liability insurance is slowly gaining traction but hasn’t yet reached a level of widespread adoption.
Possibly because firms in the US have clearer liabilities where customers’ data is concerned, with a mandate to notify all clients of the breach, in writing, whereas in the UK, the costs associated with a cybersecurity incident, or data breach are less clear, varying from industry to industry, and between firms of different sizes. The imminent GDPR could change things, but we have yet to see that happen.
All cyber
Elsen, a Platform-as-a-Service company for large financial institutions, has raised USD2.4 million in a seed extension round led by Hyperplane Venture Capital with participation from Accomplice, Launch Capital and hand-picked angel investors from the startup and financial community.
As part of the investment, Hyperplane managing partner, Jack Klinck (pictured), who previously spent nearly two decades in executive roles at State Street and BNY Mellon, will join the company’s board of directors as Chairman.
This investment brings Elsen’s total funding to USD2.9 million since the company’s inception in 2014. The funds will be used to bolster sales and marketing, expand Elsen’s engineering team, extend support
KOGER, provider of the NTAS platform for fund administration and compliance, is now offering Chinese-language capability for investor statements.
More than 8,000 funds with USD2 trillion in assets are administered through NTAS, used by many of the largest asset managers, fund administrators and financial institutions. With this new product innovation, hedge funds and private equity funds can provide statements to Chinese investors in their native language.
“Today most fund managers have investor bases that span the globe. Our platform makes complex processes easy to manage and increases efficiency for fund administrators, asset managers and financial institutions. We felt it was
DMS Governance (DMS) has launched its US Regulatory Compliance services, designed to support US-based investment advisers in improving the quality and increasing the ease of compliance with their regulatory responsibilities.
The DMS’ US Regulatory Compliance services offers expert compliance staff and state-of-the-art technology to investment advisers of hedge and private equity funds, registered mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and other alternative investment products. DMS is recognised globally for its successful, long-term track record and expertise in governance, risk, and compliance within the investment fund industry.
Wade Boylan, Leader, US Regulatory Compliance Services, says: “Our mission is to partner with US
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
